My Promise to Keep
by DisneyandTMMLover
Summary: Ruka Aoyama is the daughter of Masaya and Ichigo, but she has no memories of her dad before he died. In fact, she hardly has any memories of her childhood. Only that her dad didn't really die. He left, and young Ruka remembers a promise made to her by a face she can't remember but left unforgettable impression on her heart - "I'll come back. I promise you, hana-chan!"
1. It Started With a Funeral

**I Promise I'll Return**

_Like many people, I don't remember the things that happened to me when I was a young child. I don't even have any memories of my father before he left._

_Oh please excuse me. Allow me to correct that. Before he died._

_Normally, if one tries really hard, people remember maybe a face of what someone looked like or maybe even a warm touch. I don't remember anything like that. The only way I would know what he looked like would be the pictures my mom would have of him – from the time when they first met in junior high to all the times after that till I was a baby. But that's about it. I only see the pictures and when I asked mom about him once, she would look so greatly saddened that I thought she was going to break down right in front of me._

_After that, I never asked about him again. But there is one bit of information I have about him; besides the fact that his name was Aoyama Masaya._

_When I was five years old, he was murdered. The killer was never found and it happened when I was in the house with him. People say that the trauma must have been so great that I just completely blocked it out of my memory as a sort of defense mechanism. Sounds logical, however when they tell me that his grave is in Japan, I didn't believe them._

_I said that I didn't remember the face or the touch of my father but for some apparent reason, I remember one distinct thing about him. My father didn't die. He left us, and I remember distinctly his last words to my mom before she cried her heart out._

"_You know something…you're very cruel right now, koneko-chan."_

Ch. 1: It Started with a Funeral

_-Men are undependable.-_

Rain is pouring down from the heavens. How coincidental, since today is the day of Momomiya Shintaro's funeral. Family and friends crowd around his grave – with a picture of him in front of his contained ashes and piles of lilies all around him. Everyone is wearing black and not one person has a happy smile on their faces. Just grief and sympathy for Shintaro's pour wife and family.

Even his daughter, the widow Aoyama Ichigo, returned from England to come to this funeral, and his 16-year old daughter, Aoyama Ruka.

_-They're arrogant, oblivious to another's feelings, and they make you so dependent on them only to disappoint you later. In the end, it's always the men who leave first.-_

While Momomiya Sakura is still crying for the loss of her husband, Ichigo tries to remain strong. She has shed her tears for her father and right now, she's trying not to shed even more for him. Someone needs to be strong for her mother. As for Ruka, well she hardly remembers her grandfather. She's lived in England since she was a little girl and now here she is, in Japan; under a big black umbrella, holding it while her mom comforts her grandmother. In a black dress, with white lace as trimming to the heart-shape collar, it shows the curves of her body rather nicely. A small chest but smaller waist are well-defined but at the hips, the skirt is loose and rests lightly against her long legs until an inch past the knees. The sleeves are tight from the shoulder to the elbow and then they enlarge with the same white lace trimmings. For feet, she wears long white socks that are two inches below her knee and black three-inch heels. Interesting shoes to wear considering that she's standing in the mud and every now and then, her heel would sink. But Ruka just doesn't seem to mind it. She would just shift and she'll be fine. So long as she can still protect the heads of the women in her family from the rain. Like them, she has red hair but it's a darker shade compared to her mom and her grandmother. It's also short, like a red halo above her shoulders but the bangs on the side of her face are longer than the rest. Four inches pass her shoulders to be exact and unlike her mother and grandmother, she has blue eyes. Light, bright blue eyes. Eyes that can be considered freaky at first sight, especially on her pale white skin face. Actually, her entire skin tone is pale white like she's never seen the sun before. Don't be disappointed when you ask her and she'll tell you that she knows how the sun feels on the skin and the burning sensation of blindness from the sunlight in the eyes. She's had those experiences. Her skin tone is just stubborn. That's all.

Not that Ruka really cares anyhow.

_-Sure they can swear their undying love to you but in the end, they'll be gone. One way or the other. Go ahead and give them the excuse that some things couldn't be helped and the only option left was to leave. It's not acceptable to the pain caused from their departure. If they truly meant to stay with you forever, why couldn't they try harder? Why did they just give up and leave?-_

_-That is why I've always thought that it's better to live without them. Don't depend on them and don't ask of any sort of favors for them. Why go through the whole trouble when it's just going to cause you grief and heartache later?-_

As the funeral is about to come to reach its end, Ruka can only hold these bitter thoughts as she stares at the lilies a moment longer before peaking at the women beside her. Sakura still being a sobbing mess after the multiple days that passed since her husband's stroke, and Ichigo still rubbing her arm while trying to remain as strong as she can for her. It can easily be seen that she wants to cry just as much as her mother but no. Scanning her light blue eyes across the rest of the crowd, every single one of them have similar faces to the person standing next to them. Of course, Ruka hardly knows anyone but that's not the point.

All this pain for the loss of one man. It's their fault anyway. They let him get too close to their hearts.

The heart…

Placing a hand over her own, Ruka closes her eyes for a moment.

_-It's cold. Cold and hard…-_

_-It is said that the heart is the source of all compassion, kindness, and love. But I don't feel it. I can say words to show sympathy for another's pain but they would only be empty. I have no compassion, no kindness, nor love to feel and share full-heartedly.-_

_-But there is also something else about the heart. They remember the memories that surround those feelings. At least, the memories that are supposed to be important to the heart above all else. That's probably why I remember my father's last words. But there's one more thing I remember from long ago.-_

"_**I'll come back. I promise you, hana-chan! My papa can't control my life forever! Once I'm old enough, I'll do whatever it takes to get back to you! Rather I would have to fight my papa or the world, I promise I'll return."**_

_-Funny that is all my heart is willing to remember of that moment. I don't even know who said it, nor the face of that person. Could something honestly be that important but not have any more supporting details?-_

_-Then what is the point?-_

At last the funeral ended. Before anyone took their leave to go on with their daily lives, they spoke their last bit of condolences to the departed's family before then. Sakura had finally stopped sobbing to at least thank the people who came today and that gave Ichigo the chance to distract herself from crying her eyes out. Ruka still just stood there, holding the umbrella and spoke when spoken to. To be honest, a lot of people are nervous to talk to her. Is it because of the way she looks with her eyes showing no troubled feelings of this funeral, or how she looks like a closed book while her mother and grandmother are open?

Or maybe because she spent the last twelve years of her life living in England so she doesn't know how to communicate?

As some of the last bits of people speak to the widow Momomiya and the Aoyamas, Sakura notices something from the corner of her eyes. Something that turns her head slightly and then smile full-heartedly for the first time today.

"Ichigo dear," she calls.

As the last person to say 'Sorry for your loss' leaves and nods his head to Ruka, who nods back as courtesy, Ichigo responds, "Yes?"

Motioning her head to the side, the younger red-head woman looks up and she gasps in shock of what she sees. She could hardly believe her eyes but none the less, she can see them as clear as day and they are really here. "Everyone?"

Upon hearing her, Ruka turns to look and her expression hardly changes when she sees the huge crowd of people staring at them with welcoming eyes and gentle smiles – the adults at least. Six adults and four children; the oldest probably around fifteen or so. All of them are wearing black clothing in respect and they're all formally dressed. Together, there are four males and six females; two adult males and two children males. With how the men have a hand on a woman's shoulder or is just standing really close to her, Ruka can immediately tell that the short blonde hair man is married to the two bun-hair woman of class, while the tall long hair brunette is married to the strikingly beautiful woman Ruka recognizes seeing in magazines and commercials. Analyzing the young with the grown-ups, Ruka can presume who is whose child. What she can also notice is the two younger ones, a boy and girl whom appear 12 or 13-years old, have mothers but there are no fathers to stand beside them. The women have wedding rings so then, where are they? Could they not make it because they have something better to do? Are they nearby but decide to give their wives some privacy with Ichigo?

Or are they dead too?

"It's been a while, Ichigo-san," the brunette man greets.

The blonde corrects, "Twelve years to be exact. What? Love England too much to leave?"

At least the brunette has some grace in his voice but that tan, blonde man is a little more…oh what's the word…crude? Or is that too harsh? Maybe 'cocky' but not completely…

"You can go greet them, Ichigo."

Turning to Sakura, she also adds, "It's been a while since the last time you saw them, hasn't it? And Ruka, you should say hello, too. You don't remember but you have met them before."

Figures. "But grandmother-"

"Don't worry, dear. I have a spare in case something like this was to happen." Going to her purse, Sakura proves her point when she takes out a small clear umbrella. Well now it looks like they have no choice.

Carrying the giant umbrella, Ichigo and Ruka make their way to the group. As soon as they left, Sakura opens her own and watches her daughter and granddaughter about to have their long-lost, heart-to-heart reunion. She's unable to watch the whole thing, however. Another visitor comes to her and Sakura's attention is turned to them, thanking them for coming and for their condolences.

Casually approaching them, which is rather uncharacteristic for those who knew the past Ichigo, she doesn't take another step further than a few feet from these group of people. She's nervous, and who wouldn't be when you haven't seen your long-time friends for more than a decade? With her daughter by her side, Ichigo takes a deep breath and mentally prepares herself as she greets, "Everyone, thank you for coming today. It means a lot to us." Then she bows and Ruka does the same.

"Of course we'd come, Ichigo," the dazzling gorgeous Zakuro Akasaka tells her.

Adding in the details, the woman with the big round glasses says with a soft, gentle smile, "We knew when you'd come back to Japan, things would be too busy for you to visit so we decided to come to you, Ichigo-san."

To say that Ichigo was touched when she heard the words of her dear friend would be an understatement – compared to the shock realization she felt inside. She dared not give that away but her body tensed none the less and someone noticed.

Standing back up, Ichigo tries to look silly-forgetful as she says, "Please forgive me. I'll be sure to come and visit you as soon as everything has settled down for us."

Then the woman with black Chinese attire takes the big risk of running out in the rain and hugging Ichigo as if she were a little kid. "Ichigo onee-chan, it's so good to see you again, na no da!"

Ichigo didn't expect this, even though it really shouldn't be since she knows her, but all the same, Ruka sees how greatly surprise her mom looks. That finally pushed her. In no time at all, tears appear in Ichigo's chocolate brown eyes and she hugs the woman back. "It's good to see you too…Pudding!"

The woman called Pudding wasn't the only one to hug Ichigo. First it was the woman with the glasses, then the two-bun woman, and finally the model. They all approach Ruka's mom and hug her, some with tears in their eyes and others with just joyful smiles. Ichigo called them by names but all Ruka was concerned about is if the umbrella she's holding can still shield her while her mom is having such a joyful reunion. The men stand in the background watching these women hugging and crying, and Ruka looks down at the watch on her wrist.

'_It's almost time for the dinner reception.'_ Looking at her mom to tell her, she decides against it. So she looks to the side to wait until they were done and she notices that the rain has stopped. She checks to be sure and up in the sky, the sun is peaking through the grey clouds. How coincidental again. '_Is the heaven's trying to be funny?'_ she wonders.

Folding the umbrella away, Ruka stands where she is on the side and waits.

_-I never really given much thought to how my story would start. But I suppose if I have to be honest, it started when I returned to Japan to attend my grandfather's funeral. After all, it was at the funeral when I met these people and later, it was by fate that I would soon meet HIM.-_

"…_**I promise you, hana-chan!..."**_

_-The true identity of the one who made that pitiful promise.-_

* * *

**Ruka – "blue flower"**

**Hana-chan – "flower"-chan**

**Kanon – "flower sound"**


	2. Potential Friends

Ch. 2: Potential Friends

_One week later…_

Waking up with a start, Ruka's eyes shoot wide open and her mouth inhaled a great big breathe. Her heart racing, her skin damp with sweat, and her entire body is tense from the realism and the vivid emotions created by her dream. Under the warmth of her comforter from the cool temperature of the autumn morning, Ruka lies on her twin size bed for a moment and waits for her consciousness to realize she is no longer asleep. She's awake and the seconds blink on her alarm clock before changing to 6:00 am. Then her alarm starts beeping away. It's by that sound that Ruka's assured that she's in her room right now. Reaching for the clock, she presses the 'off' button to turn off that loud and annoying sound and then she sits up on her mattress. Maybe she should change it to the radio for a change of pace. Then just to be sure, Ruka looks around her new room to clarify her surroundings.

Behind her is a pair of windows with light navy blue curtains shielding some of new day's morning light. The windows are slightly open so the curtains are fluttering against the glass, gliding back and forth. Also in that same direction is Ruka's bed counter with a small lamp, a book she was reading last night, and the alarm clock that now says it's 6:03 am. To her right, there is a closet in the wall with sliding doors and hanging on one of the doors is a high school uniform – a black sailor uniform with white trimmings and a white ribbon to wear around the collar and a long ankle-length black skirt. Also part of the uniform, Ruka will have to wear white socks with her new brown buckled shoes. She's only a second year so no black, formal jacket to wear yet. Those are for the third-years, the seniors. Finally against the wall in front of her is her desk with a stack of text books and notebooks that she's been using these past few days to catch up on learning for her new school.

Yes, today is going to the first day at her new school. She's sort of coming in mid-month when the school year just started so she's not that far behind but still. Better to be prepared than walking in with no idea. But this is not a way to start out.

Pushing the desire to go back to sleep, Ruka rubs her head and then later runs her fingers through her hair as she thinks to herself, _'This is the third time this week. Can't I get any sleep? What in world was I dreaming about anyway?'_ When she runs her fingers through her hair, she stops mid-way. Looking at her hair, she notices a big difference about it. _'And this too. Third time.'_

Definitely she can't go back to sleep. She needs to take care of this before she goes down to make breakfast. Forcing herself out of bed, she tucks her feet into her slippers and walks out of her mother's old childhood room and heads for the bathroom down the hall.

It's been a week since her grandfather's funeral and ever since then, Ruka and her mom have been living in Sakura's house to help sort out Shintaro's stuff. Of course, they didn't get right on it after the funeral ceremony(they did it over the weekend) and that's not the entire reason why the two of them are now living in this house and Ruka is being enrolled in a new school. Ichigo felt that since her mom is going to be alone in this lonely house from now on, they would move back to Japan to live permanently. However since it was a last minute decision, Ichigo went back to England the day before to finish packing and move it back here. Or at least sell some of the stuff she knows she can't bring back. Since that sort takes time, Ichigo will probably be gone for two weeks or more and that leaves Ruka alone to live with her grandmother.

About fourty-minutes later since she's been in the bathroom, Ruka comes out looking refreshed with her teeth brushed, face washed, and hair fixed. Now to change her clothes before going to the kitchen. In no less than three minutes, Ruka has her black and white school uniform on, her packed school bag in hand, and her socks on under her house slippers. Then down the stairs, drop the bag off to the living room's couch, and to the kitchen to cook.

Since Sakura is older, Ruka needs to prepare meals in the morning and for lunch for the both of them. At first, her grandmother claimed she didn't mind getting up early to prepare Ruka food but the day after she said that, she didn't get up till noon. The young Aoyama honestly doesn't mind. She knows how to cook simple dishes. By the time it was 7:17 am, she has the rice cooked, some of it already in two lunch boxes, fried chicken with the rice, a small side of salad with a cherry tomato, a red sausage, and folded slices of egg omelets, two cooking butterfishes for breakfast, toast cooking in the toaster, bubbling miso soap, fruits already sliced and peeled, and a kettle of water just about to boil on the stove. Then a few minutes, Ruka starts to hear the creaking of her grandmother waking up and about to come downstairs.

"Good morning, Ruka-chan," Sakura greets.

Sparing a glance over her shoulder, Ruka responds, "Good morning, grandmother." Then she moves the cooked butterfish on two plates and presents them on the table. "Tea?"

"Thank you, dear." Sakura goes to the dining table and on the table with the fish is the sliced fruit, two bowls of rice, a plate of toast and a plate of butter beside it. Ruka came back to the table after turning everything off and bringing with her two cups of hot tea. "This looks amazing, Ruka-chan. And you said that you only cook simple recipes."

"These are simple recipes, grandmother." Ruka sats down across from the old woman and they both thank, "Itadakimasu," before they eat.

After the first bite, Sakura compliments, "Delicious."

"Thank you, grandmother."

Staring at her granddaughter silently eating for a moment, Sakura notes, "You are a very formal child, Ruka-chan. We are family, after all. You can relax when you're with me."

"Forgive me, grandmother, but this is how I always am. I'm even like this with mom."

"Then that almost makes me sad." Ruka pauses from Sakura's words. "You were raised solely by your mother and yet you treat her the same as how you treat everyone else. Not only that, when Ichigo told me that the two of you would be moving in, you didn't look like you hated the idea. Weren't you happy in England? No friends or a boyfriend you would be leaving behind?"

"The people at my old school chose to avoid me. They believed I thought them superior and too uptight to have fun. Of course if potential friends thought that, a boyfriend was also impossible– not that I was looking for one anyway."

For some reason, Sakura finds amusement in that as she chuckles. "If your grandfather heard you say that, he would be proud. He and I met when we were in middle school and your mom and dad were the same. But when Shintaro found out about your parents, he flipped out and wouldn't be quiet about it for weeks."

"He was the classic overprotective-father to mom, wasn't he? Didn't believe that anyone was good enough for his daughter."

"Exactly."

"Mom told me when I was young and my father was still with us, grandfather would lecture about how boys were the enemy and that I should defend myself at all cost against them."

She laughs. "Yes he did. Could it be that his 'words of wisdom' is the reason why you're not looking for anyone?"

Ruka doesn't answer right away. Yes, she has a reason but it's not because of that. "I merely have no interest. I mean no offence but I rather secure my future before I can think about involving another person in it." She goes back to eating and Sakura just smiles sweetly at her lovely granddaughter.

"That's very ideal thinking but I'll warn you now. People aren't lying when they say that love will hit you when you least expect it, especially to those who aren't looking for it. It'll find you, despite what you say."

"I'll take your word into consideration, grandmother." Sakura laughs again to Ruka's words. She's only saying that because she doesn't believe it. Just wait, dear Ruka. It'll come.

Then a thought comes to Sakura's mind. Actually, it's been on her mind since the funeral but she's never really asked about it, till now. "Ruka-chan, tell me something."

"Yes?"

"At the funeral dinner, I left the table for a brief moment to use the bathroom. At the time, everything was fine. Your mom was chatting with her old friends as if she never left but when I came back, Mint-san left the restaurant in a fury. I couldn't ask your mom this because she looked greatly upset but did you see what happened?"

Ruka chews on the last bit of her butterfish when she's asked this. Recalling the memories of last week, her family and that group had dinner together afterwards. Sakura made the reservation at a restaurant that apparently the Pudding Fong woman owned. It was sort of her surprise to Ichigo for coming back home, a sort of arranged happy reunion with old friends. While the adults sat together in one table, Ruka sat with her mom's friend's kids at another and had the pleasure of knowing them better than when they first greeted at the graveyard. After a swallow, Ruka replies, "I do not know the whole story, grandmother. Like you said, things were fine and then Shirogane-san just lashed out at my mom. She was speaking so loud, she gained the attention of the entire restaurant."

"What was she angry about?"

"About why mom decided to move to England after my father died. Why instead of coming to them for comfort, she took me away to a different country."

Sakura stares at her granddaughter for that answer but her eyes become sympathetic and understanding when she thinks about Mint. "I guess I can say I'm not surprised. Mint was always the loyal type so when you two suddenly ran off, I suppose she felt betrayed. Like she thought Ichigo didn't depend on them in her time of need."

Ruka raises a brow at that. "Is Shirogane-san the type to hold a grudge like that for twelve years?"

"I think it's more on her wondering why Ichigo left and she just wasn't pleased with the answer. If I remember correctly, I think that was also the same time Lettuce and Pudding lost contact with their husbands."

Ruka blinks to that. "Shirogane-san mentioned that as well. I suppose that's why Shino-kun and Airi-san don't have fathers, like me." _'More examples of my theory. The person you love will always leave you, so why bother being close to one?'_

Regaining back her smile, Sakura tells her, "Thank you for telling me about what happened but tell me one more thing. What do you think of the children, Ruka-chan?"

"Please elaborate, grandmother?"

"From what I saw, it didn't look like they thought ill of you. They're all nice kids so maybe you can be friends with them."

Finishing the fruit now, Ruka responds, "It does appear I will be attending the same school as them. My high school has a joint elementary and junior high department, but we are in different grades. I don't see how we can be in constant contact with each other to have such a relationship."

"They're all friends, despite being in different grades."

"That's because they've known each other since they were all very young, and they have the same part-time job at the Café Mew Mew, I believe they called it. The same café their parents worked at long ago."

"That old place? Well isn't that nostalgic. Ichigo used to work there, too. Maybe you can ask Ryou-kun if he can hire you part-time. That'll give you more opportunities to spend time with them."

"Grandmother, I've only just moved here. I want to firmly settle in before I consider part-time jobs or friends."

"Still a friend wouldn't hurt, could it?"

Sakura still just smiles as if her granddaughter is the silliest girl in the world. Ruka didn't know how to answer that and thankfully when she looks up at the clock on the wall, it's 7:54 am. Time for her to leave.

After thanking for the meal, Ruka sits up and starts collecting the dishes. "Again, I will take your words into consideration, grandmother."

"You can leave the dishes in the sink, Ruka-chan. I'll clean up. You don't want to be late for your first day."

"Thank you, grandmother," Ruka says, bowing her head. "I hope the food was to your liking."

"It really is," and then Sakura takes a sip of her miso soup while Ruka puts the dishes in the sink and then turns on the faucet so the food residue won't stick. Once that is done, Ruka goes to the boxed lunches on the counter and puts one in the refrigerator while she wraps the other for her to take.

"I'm leaving, then."

"Do you know how to get to school, Ruka-chan?"

After grabbing her bag and already at the front door to put her shoes on, Ruka responds, "Mom showed me the way. I'll be fine. If I get lost, Tsubaki-san gave me her phone number to call." She can already see the pleased smile on Sakura's face when she said that.

"Okay then. Have a nice day, Ruka-chan."

Once her shoes are on good, Ruka heads out. Then after she closes the door behind her and locks it with her new house key, she hears a voice cheer behind her, "Good morning, Ruka onee-chan!" From last week, there was only one person who called her that. Turning around, Ruka would be lying if she claims that she wasn't surprise– even though she didn't look it when seeing it.

On the sidewalk in front of her house are the four people she met and ate dinner with last week, all in their respected uniform representing what level of schooling they're in. The one who called out to Aoyama first is the daughter of Pudding fong, Airi Fong. When Ruka first met her, she was quite the friendly young on. Tan skin to indicate that she enjoys spending her time in the sun a lot, and ginger red hair that is about three inches longer than her shoulders. It's tied into four ponytails but the front two are braided, and she has an attractive active build for a body. Maybe she's into sports. She's one of the youngest of the children, maybe about 12-years old, and she has big, sparkly brown eyes – like her mom's. She had looked really serious last week about wanting to be friends with Ruka. Today she's wearing the same black and white sailor outfit Ruka has but with shorter, above knee-length skirt and a red ribbon instead of white to show that she's in elementary.

Standing beside her is the serious-face son of Midorikawa Lettuce, Midorikawa Shino. He's rather a tall one for his age, judging by the boyish features he still possesses. He was practically eye-level with Ruka when he stood before her and she's the obvious older one of them all. He has his mom's dark lime green color hair and it's short. Unlike Airi, he has fairer looking skin but not as pale as Ruka's, of course(her tone is almost impossible for anyone to have). He's a bit on the buff side with broad shoulders, strong looking muscles on his arms and legs despite the fact that he was wearing a suit that day, and define lines on his neck. Also like his mom, he has rectangle thick-framed glasses but behind the lenses are sharp violet eyes that have a sort of blank expression to them. His entire face was sort of blank when he stared at Ruka, even today. She first wondered if he's probably feared by other kids his age, but she found out instead that despite being the same age as Airi, he's in a grade higher because he skipped one. She also found out to not be fooled by his unapproachable appearance. He may look cool and stoic but when interacting with Airi, his personality does a complete one-eighty – he stutters and becomes really shy(wow, could he be any more obvious?). The boy's uniform for the school is the same typical all black look with the high collar jacket and the white buttons down the middle.

Then there is the daughter of Akasaka Keichiro and (Fujiwara) Zakuro, Akasaka Tsubaki. Ruka recognized her mother as a famous international actress/model and she wondered why Tsubaki wasn't in the business herself. She's older than Airi and Shino by three years and is two younger than Ruka. She's also as tall as her too, with long silky black opal hair that's braided on her thin shoulder, dark brown eyes that give a mysterious glitter, and her long dancer-like legs are really attractive– even Ruka had to admit that. When she introduced herself, Tsubaki seemed like another friendly one but not as hyper-active as Airi. She's more on the polite side, almost like how a maid would talk to her master, but if anything judging by her beauty, she should be the lady of the house. Today, she has the same polite, kind smile as she did before; being the ideal image of a perfect lady. Ruka was trying to find the chink in that image but she was unsuccessful last week. For school, same sailor uniform but the skirt is little longer than Airi's, passing the knee-length, and she has a blue ribbon instead to show that she's still in junior high level.

Finally, the son of Shirogane Ryou and Mint, Shirogane Kanon; staring out into the distance like he has no interest being here in front of Ruka's house. From the first moment she saw him, Ruka was getting the impression that he's probably on the rude, obnoxious side. Even when he greeted her, all he said was "Yo," and then his name. He acted as if talking unless needed to was a waste of effort. It was shown in his bark brown eyes too when he looked down on her that day. Well, he's actually a few inches taller than her but his eyes still held that impression. Unlike Shino, he's noticeably buff. From the black collared shirt he wore, he has muscle but he's more on the slender, toned side. Still, pretty attractive with his sparkling golden hair and his copper tan skin. Actually with the tan skin and blonde hair, Ruka was curious if he was surfer or if he enjoys swimming. It could also just be genetics since he looks more like his dad. He's wearing the same uniform as Shino but there is one difference. He doesn't have the obvious white buttons on his uniform. According to what Ruka saw in the store when her and her mom were buying uniforms, that's a high school uniform. So she's going to be seeing him more often than the others then, huh?

"Good morning, everyone," Ruka calmly greets.

Approaching the group waiting for her, Tsubaki tells her, "We came to surprise you, Ruka-san."

"Are you surprised, na no da?!" Airi cheers. "We came early to escort you to your new school, na no da!"

Ruka bows her head to her. "I appreciate your kindness." Then she turns her attention to Kanon. "Shirogane-kun, how is your mother?"

He looks at her and responds, "Cooling off. I suppose I need to apologize for her behavior that day but half of the fault is on your mom too, don't forget."

'_So a gentleman when he wants to be.'_ "I will pass the apology to my mom when she returns." Then Ruka feels Airi cling to her arm.

"Ne, Ruka onee-chan, come to the café after school, na no da! We have the best sweets in Japan, na no da! Cook by Tsubaki onee-chan herself, na no da!"

So not only good looks but cooking skills too, huh? Honestly, where is the chink?

Blushing like she's embarrassed, the said perfect-lady excuses, "I'm still learning. My father was the one who first backed for Café Mew Mew when our mothers were working there. He just passed me the recipes."

"But they're super yummy, na no da!"

"Airi-chan…"

Ruka looks down at her watch and she tells them, "It's 8:07. We're going to be late."

Nothing seems to ruin Airi's good mood as she cheers again, "No worries, na no da! We still have plenty of time, na no da! Onwards, na no da!" Then she pulls on Ruka's arm to get her to start walking. Her active body is no joke. This little girl has some strength and she's a ball of energy.

The rest of the group follows them and then Airi starts singing a little marching song, as if to motive everyone to school. For some reason, Ruka is beginning to feel really tired. While in the Momomiya house, Sakura pushes aside a curtain to watch her granddaughter being escorted by the other children to her new school. Looks like to her, those kids won't stay as potential friends for long and her grateful smile proves that thought.

* * *

**Airi – "love + Jasmine"**

**Shino – "bamboo stem"**

**Tsubaki – "Camellia"**

**Kanon – "flower sound"**


	3. The Pied Piper

Ch. 3: The Pied Piper

On a ship miles and miles away from Earth's atmosphere and far enough to hide away from its satellites, metal slates rise and collect each other one by one. A view of the third planet is soon shown through a clear giant window as big and wide as a wall. Three pairs of eyes who've eagerly awaited for this view gawk and gasp at the sight, while one couldn't look happier. They've waited a long time and traveled very far to see it.

"This is Earth," a gentle female voice gasps. "It's so beautiful."

A male voice comments, "I can see now what they were talking about. It's a magnificent planet at first sight, even from far away."

"But they also said that up close is what really makes it superb; plus their humans," a second male voice adds – his voice sounding excited, almost like a child going to a field trip.

The first male voice points that out. "Of course you would know. You've been here before."

"Yeah, but I'm hoping nothing has changed too much." _'Hana-chan, at last. I'm finally going to keep my promise.'_

* * *

Not only is Kanon a high school student like Ruka, but he's also in the same grade as her and in the classroom across from her, too. Arriving on the school grounds, the Aoyama girl had to say goodbye to Airi at the elementary building and then to Shino and Tsubaki at the junior high building. It became a rather silent walk between her and Kanon to the high school building but she didn't mind it. What she did mind later was he walked with her to the office so she could pick up her schedule and a map of the school to find which classroom she'll be in to spend those classes. It was like having an uncalled for chaperon, and she is not a child. Then he took her paper without asking and gave it back to her without a word. Ruka asked why he did that but he didn't speak a word and that became the moment when his attitude is starting to make her irritated. Still, he lead her to her new classroom and then entered his own with a 'bye' and a wave. He left so suddenly, Ruka didn't have the chance to awkwardly thank him for his 'unasked for' help.

'_Is he trying to act like one of those jerk-characters who are really kind and helpful underneath?'_ she wondered watching him go.

As to be expected, the teacher made Ruka stand before the class after he wrote her name on the board behind her so she could introduce herself. Despite her small growing frustration to Shirogane, she didn't fail to notice how the other students in the hallway were staring at her. Seems like everyone knows each other so when a new student comes walking down the hallways, they can instantly tell. At least thanks to Kanon, Ruka could ignore them in the hall until she had to stand before them. All of them are pretty much gaping her and most of the guys were blushing at Ruka's mature prettiness.

Doing the expected, Ruka bowed to her new classmates and greeted, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I'm Aoyama Ruka. Please take care of me." Then the teacher told her to take a seat at the vacant one by the window at the second to last row and she does, with every guy still staring at her when she walks past them. She didn't let it bother her and took her seat.

Hours had passed and subjects passed, too. First was English and the teacher thought it would be nice for Ruka to do a little example of her fluent English since she lived in England. She said she didn't mind but from already being irked before, she's keeping her comments to herself about this little forced-volunteer work. She got up, did a passage for the class, and almost every student stared at her like she was a genius; again. Then came Math and the teacher asked Ruka to do a problem on the board – which she solved correctly, making the students admire her more. Then came science and the teacher asked Ruka more questions than he asked the other students, which again she answered correctly. Finally, it was lunch time and before her new classmates hoarded around her to play twenty-questions, Ruka got up from her seat with her lunch in hand and left the room as soon as the bell rang.

'_Is it customary for new students to be picked on in front of the entire class to see if he or she can get a question wrong?!'_ If Ruka wasn't considered annoyed before, she definitely was then. She didn't care where she was going. She just wanted to be out of the classroom and find a seclude area where she could eat her lunch in peace at least.

Unfortunately, she left before Kanon could get her.

"Where is Ruka-san?" Tsubaki asks when she sees the blonde approaching her and the others. The three of them are sitting on a picnic mat with their half-eaten box lunches and Kanon sits on the mat with them.

At their school, both the high school and the junior school have lunch around the same time except the junior high start lunch earlier than high school. The elementary school already had their lunch period but Airi is on her free-period so she's been eating with the friends she grew up with instead with the ones she made in school.

The said ginger whines, "I wanted Ruka onee-chan to eat with us, na no da."

"Yeah well, you can go chasing after her the next time she darts out of the classroom to avoid her classmates," he responds. Opening his lunch so he can start eating, the other three stare at him from the news.

"She's a new student. It's inevitable the other students want to befriend her," Shino reports. " 'Fresh meat' is the term in their minds."

"Poor Ruka-san. I wonder what her class must have gone to have darted to her," wonders Tsubaki before taking a bite of her sweet egg roll.

"An overachiever," Kanon responds. "Her classmates were gossiping about her when I came by. Apparently, the teacher asked her at least five questions in every subject so far and she hasn't gotten one wrong yet. A real brainy-act. She's the type to annoy me the most."

"You should look in the mirror, Kanon-kun. You're not exactly any less brilliant than she is. You've skipped two grades when Shino-kun only skipped one."

"At least I have people skills. This girl doesn't seem to know when to say 'no'. She just does what she's expected to do, no questions ask."

Shino raise a brow to that. "You can't exactly say 'no, I don't want to answer this' to a teacher."

"No, but she's like that with everyone. It's like she doesn't have a personality of her own, or she doesn't care enough to have one."

Tsubaki excuses, "Maybe she's still trying to settle into her new life back in Japan. My mother always said that English culture is different compared to Japanese. Maybe she just doesn't know how to act yet."

"She's older than us, Tsubaki. She's not a toddler like Airi, here."

With a mouth full of food, Airi protests, "Imuh nah a koddler, ra ro ha!_(I'm not a toddler, na no da!)_

"Only a toddler would talk to me without chewing her food first." Airi huffs and turns to the side, insulted, then finishes chewing her food.

Tsubaki eyes Kanon for a moment before saying, "I think you're being prejudice."

He raises a brow at her. "Excuse me?"

"Your mom is upset with her mom and now you're judging her because of what happened last week." Shino and Airi look at her surprise when she made that remark and then they turn to Kanon when he countered that comment.

"And you've only known her for two days. Why are you so defendant about her?"

They look between them back and forth.

"Because I think she needs some friends and you're not making it easy for her."

"What was Airi doing all morning? She's been making it easy for this girl to be friends and I don't see her jumping for joy or eagerly wanting to have lunch with us."

"She's a shy girl, I can tell."

"Right, and you have such excellent people-insight on first sight."

"Better than you, who only thinks he's the incredible Kanon Shirogane that no one can touch."

As they continue to bicker like a bunch of old ladies, Airi looks a little bored when she turns to Shino after putting her finished bento lunch down. "I think we better go back to class, na no da."

He nods in agreement, with a face as red as a tomato.

Unknown to those down below, Ruka is up on the roof of her school building and she can see the four of them conversing. She didn't hear what they were saying, of course, but she can see how they respond to each other as she eats her lunch. Chewing her last piece of chicken, she says to herself, "So that's Tsubaki-san's flaw." Looking away and up at the blue sky instead, she lets out a sigh. "I have no interest in becoming a third-wheel."

* * *

Turning her cell phone off, Ruka lets out a sigh and then leans back against the park bench she's currently resting on. School is over and the last thing she needs right now is someone asking why she left school without a certain group of people.

'_I just want to be alone and breathe!'_ she exclaims in her head. First day of school was just stressful.

After lunch, things went right back to how they were earlier. The next subject was history and surprise, surprise, the teacher picked on Ruka again to answer his questions – which she got correct again. At least in Physical Education that came next, the coach wasn't picking on her as much. Just had her play volleyball with the girls while the boys played basketball. However in that class, Ruka could feel the stares on her bare legs. She knew the uniform was inappropriate the moment she saw it and she wondered how it wasn't against the dress code. Finally came her free-period. When choosing her classes, she had a choice of a music class(instrument or choir), an art class, or a study period. That choice was a no brainer and Ruka spent that time studying in the library. Homework at the school isn't anything intense so she was able to finish it all. Now it's all finally over, which she rushed off as soon as it was, and Ruka just wants to relax. What better place to do it than in the park?

A cool gentle breeze blows through Ruka's dark red hair and it feels great under the hot sun. It'll be summer soon but spring is still fighting on. Funny. Back in England, Ruka would almost be done with the school year but in Japan, she's already starting the next year. Thanks to her grades, she's able to get away with this 'finishing early and starting early' thing. There's just no three month summer break, but that's fine. It's not like Ruka had any big plans or anything like that.

Point being, Ruka isn't the type of person to care that she doesn't have a summer vacation. Her only issue is she hopes her teacher would stop calling for her on everything, making her stand out more, otherwise she is going to wish for that summer break.

Closing her eyes, Ruka just lets her mind go blank. Take in the smell of the park around her, feel the warm sun and cool breeze on her skin and through her clothes, and listen to the distant sounds of cars driving, birds chirping, children laughing, and the sound of a flute playing.

Wait, a flute? That wasn't playing a minute ago.

Opening her eyes from her brief relaxation, Ruka turns to where she can hear the sound of the music and she sees not too far away a young boy of 16 or 17 being surrounded by laughing/dancing children. He's the one playing the flute and there are some parents there as well, watching how their little ones are having fun with the melody he's playing. Ruka can't really see what he looks like but she can see that he looks almost unhealthingly skinny and he's wearing a dull red pair of shorts, a white collared shirt with a loosely-tied black tie, a darker red hoodie, long hair in a low pony tail, and a black fedora hat with a silk red ribbon tied around. He has no bucket for tips, so maybe he's not a street performer making money. He's just playing his flute for the enjoyment of the children.

'_He looks like the Pied Piper,'_ she comments, looking at him. _'Not the most positive symbols in folklore literature but he's not bad.'_

Ruka relaxes back on her bench and just continues to watch the flute-playing boy, waiting to see if he'll use his hat to ask for tips when he's done with the song. Her light blue eyes analyzing him like how a scientist observes her project; calculating everything to form a thousand and one theories about the Pied Piper. She's already mentally calling him that as he sways and moves with the music he's making, bobbing his head up and down and swinging from left to right. From the distance, he looks like he's having fun and the children most definitely are.

Then the Pied Piper does something according to the German fairy tale. He starts marching and the children follow him in a single filed line. They even start singing but the words are almost inaudible because they're mixing laughter with it. Ruka raises a brow to the sight and wonders if he's going to try lead the children away, but no. Instead, he marches around in a circle and the parents are clapping in time with the melody.

'_That is just too weird, and now too noisy.'_ Collecting her back, Ruka stands up from the bench and starts on her way out of the park. All she wanted was some peace and quiet without any one disturbing her from people she's met or who have seen her in school.

Now she has a fairy tale coming to life before her eyes. Time to go.

As she leaves, the Pied Piper finally finishes his song. He turned around to play his last notes to the children and they all watched him with eyes dazzling with their innocent joy. Then when he was done, they cheered and clapped for him as loud as they can while he bows. Their parents clap, of course, and then they started going to their wallets to take out some little tip. The Pied Piper sees them doing.

"No tips, please!" he tells them, much to their surprise. "I don't need money. That's not my intention. I'm just trying to attract a very important girl."

Some of the children and the grownups almost awed at this young man's words. The rest did.

"Excuse me, kid."

Turning around, the Pied Piper is met with two police officers looking at him with stern, unfriendly faces; like angry parents who are about to scold their kids. He just blinks at them before taking a good look at their uniforms.

"Do you have a permit to be performing in the park?" one of the officers asks.

"A permit?" the Pied Piper asks, confused as he puts his flute in his inside jacket pocket.

The other officer tells him, "Any street performer must have a permit so they can be licensed and not charged with disturbing the peace. This was issued ten years ago. How could you not know of it?"

The Pied Piper looks like he gets it before he chuckles nervously while scratching the back of his head. "Would you believe me if I told you I've been out of the country for those ten years? I had no idea."

"Then you're gonna have to come with us, boy, to the station."

"And then you need to pay a fine for this law breaking."

Oh shoots he's in trouble.

"Got it. Can you two just do me a favor first before I go?" The Pied Pipper points to the spot where they're standing. "Stay here for a bit." Then he turns around and bolts out of there.

"Wah! Get back here!" one officer screams.

The other tries to lift his legs but for some reason, they're stuck. "My legs! Why can't I move?"

The children cheer, "Go, onii-san! GO!"

The Pied Piper runs out of the park, the same way Ruka went. He had to try and stop himself before he ran into the streets and then he starts running up the sidewalk. He sees no one and that's a good thing. _'I got to get out of here fast before that wears off.'_ He goes to his black wrist watch and turns at the corner up ahead. But then…

_BAM!_

Pied Piper is on the ground on his butt while the person he bumped into falls on the ground, face first. They both groan in pain for a moment and when the Pied Piper hears that he ran into a girl, quickly he gets up to help her.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! Are you alright?" he asks, helping her half way up. He would have helped her stand if Ruka hadn't slapped his hand off.

"Then watch where you're going next time!" she snaps. Then when she sees is face, she blinks in surprise when she recognizes him. Actually, seeing the hat is what tells her who he is, but now she can see that he his mid-back length hair is a dark shade of emerald green and his eyes must be an interesting shade of brown because they look almost red in the light. His skin is also pale, not as fair as hers but pretty close.

The Pied Piper stares at her, too; taking in her features and blinking at her bright eyes.

"After him!"

"Where did that sneaky, skinny brat go?!"

Both of them turn to look and it sounds like those police officers are getting close. Pied Piper starts to panic so without thinking, he scans the surrounding area for a place to hide. He sees a narrow alley way up a head so he picks Ruka up as if she were the lightest thing in the world and runs to it. He does all this so fast, she didn't have time to stop him. Then once they're safely hidden in the shadows, he holds her close to his body; her back against his chest, his arm around her, and his hand over her mouth. Ruka starts struggling and he whispers in her ear, "I swear I'm not going to hurt you! But please be quiet."

'_Why should I?!'_ her eyes scream at him.

"He must have gone this way!" they hear. The two of them stay quiet and watch as soon two police officers come to view and they just run right past them, as if they didn't notice anything at the corner of their eyes like they're supposed to. The teenagers watch them go and Pied Piper waits to hear the sound of their running footsteps fade away.

Ruka feels him relax and release her mouth. "Phew, that was close." But he doesn't release her.

"Sir, you have two seconds to release me or you'll be sorry."

Pied Piper didn't expect her to say that and with slow reactions, two seconds pass. With faster reflexes, Ruka rips his arm off her and while still holding onto his arm, she turns around and then flips him over. A teenage boy…taller than her….and she just flipped him over like a pro. Pied Piper lands painfully on his back and his wrist watch slams on the concrete and cracks. Hearing him groaning again, Ruka releases his arm and crosses her own in front of her chest.

"I warned you," she tells him. Then her eyes blink before they widen in what she sees.

Pied Piper slowly and painfully lifts himself up into a sitting position, and in a way in which he can face her while he's still rubbing his sore back. He can feel the bruises starting to form there. "Ouch, that hurt! I haven't been thrown like that for a long time." His eyes shot wide open when he realizes what just came out of his mouth. "Hold on." He looks back up and his vertical red eyes stare at Ruka in great shock while Ruka is staring at his ears – his big, elf like ears. "Ruka…Aoyama?"

Ruka doesn't answer to her name. She's still staring at those ears and when she points at them, she asks one thing. "What the hell are you?"


	4. Photos of Good Memories

Ch. 4: Photos of Good Memories

"_Yes…yes…tomorrow then?...Alright, thank you,"_ Ichigo says in perfect English to the movers before hanging up her phone. Then she puts her hands on her hips and says to herself, "Three o'clock tomorrow. This is going to be fun."

She says that to a storage room full of dusty junk. For the past twelve years, Ichigo and her daughter have been living in a three bedroom apartment. The third bedroom was supposed to have been a guest room in case Ruka ever wanted to have a sleepover. Since that never happened, it ended up being a storage room that's been collecting who knows what for over a decade. Most of it is piled against the walls on the side so there is a pathway to walk everywhere but there are just stacks of boxes, some old computer monitors, a box full of Christmas wrapping supplies, some file cabinets, and other things of junk. Honestly, Ichigo has no idea what are in those boxes.

'_And I have to sort what to keep and what not to keep.'_ She lets out a sigh, scratching her head and then mumbles to herself, "Oh how I wish Ruka was here. Oh well."

With that said and done, Ichigo starts working. She starts with the boxes, really wondering what are in them. Some are full of old clothes, some of Ruka's old childhood things like old toys and drawings, and one of them is filled with achievements the young Aoyama has won growing up. Mostly academic awards, but there are a few fencing ones, too, and one certificate for a Self-Defense class she took one summer.

'_I can still remember the bruises Ruka left on her instructor after her final test,'_ Ichigo reminisces, chuckling nervously at the memory, too. _'Oh how dad would've been proud of her.'_ The older woman pauses in her actions when that sad thought comes to mind.

Instantly, other memories of her father come to her. How lovey-dovey she would always see with her mom, how much he used to tease Ichigo, how over-protective he was with everything about her, and how he over-reacted when he found out about Ichigo and Masaya dating at 13. Not just those memories. How Shintaro was crying more than Sakura at Ichigo's wedding, how excited he was when Ruka was born, and how much he used to spoil his granddaughter. Ichigo also remembers the early martial arts lessons he used to give Ruka, too, but that hardly matters now when she really thinks about it.

When Ichigo took Ruka to England, they never returned to Japan. Her parents had to make the trips to visit them but as they grew older, those trips became harder to do and Ichigo never visited so they could be together. She never gave her parents more opportunities to spend time with Ruka and now, Shintaro is gone.

A stray tear sneaks its way out and Ichigo quickly wipes it away before she starts sobbing again.

'_Come on, Ichigo,'_ she thinks to herself. _'You need to get this room sorted, packed, and clean. Otherwise, you're going to be here longer than you need to.'_ With that final thought, she puts the certificate back in the box and closes it before sliding it over to the Don't Know pile. _'I should probably call Ruka and ask her what she wants to do with this stuff. But knowing her, she'd probably say donate it all.'_

The next box Ichigo opens, with just one more after this, she opens it to find photo albums in them. She can't see how many since they're piled inside flat but judging by the weight, there are probably quite a few. They're also quite dusty.

'_Hello? I don't remember what memories you hold.'_

Taking a small break, Ichigo takes out the first one she sees and opens it. Only for her eyes to widen at the first picture she sees, surrounded with written pen messages and cute stickers to help decorate the page. It's the small little photo sticker from the photo booth she went with Masaya when they went to that Red Data Animal exhibit. On their first date…

Ichigo still remembers that day and even though she was probably the only one who thought it was a date, she didn't care. She was so happy because back then, who didn't want to date the boy she had a crush on for months before finally gathering the courage to ask him out?

"Oh Masaya," she gently calls his name. Her eyes soften with sorrow and the love she still feels for her deceased husband. "I wish you were still here with me."

Now if Ichigo closes the album after seeing that one page, then she could continue her cleaning and probably put the box of photo albums in the Keep pile. She could look at it later, if she wants to. But she doesn't wait. She keeps it open and turns the next page to see a picture that makes Ichigo have a hurt expression. It's a picture of her friends posing in front of Café Mew Mew. All of the members of the Tokyo Mew Mew team, doing their own thing that makes them who they once were. Pudding doing a stunt in front of the camera, Ryou backing away from her stunt so he won't get hit with her spinning plates, Lettuce and Keiichiro looking worried since they were café property, Zakuro ignoring everything and looking right at the camera, young Ichigo laughing and smiling, and Mint making googly-eyes at her idol. It's Mint whom Ichigo has such an expression towards. She can still hear the conversation they had a week ago.

"_Ichigo, why did you leave and never come back?"_

Mint was very blunt. Before, the dinner was going fine. Everyone was asking Ichigo what life in England was like and how Ruka adjusted. Then they all got excited when they heard that Ichigo was moving back to Japan because she didn't want to leave her mom alone. Well, everyone was asking and getting excited, except for Mint. She was quiet the whole time until Sakura left to use the bathroom. Then she went right for the punch and the table went quiet.

Ryou told his wife, _"Mint, not here."_ But she didn't listen to him.

"_It's just a simple question. Well, Ichigo?"_

Her eyes when she was staring at the Aoyama widow were like her arrows when she was a Mew. Sharp, precise, and deadly. She made Ichigo want to duck and hide while her words had already shook her heart.

"_I just…needed to get away. After Masaya was killed, I was devastated and terrified. The police didn't know who killed him or why, so I worried for mine and Ruka's safety. The killer may have spared her but what if he didn't know she was in the house or maybe he was playing some sick game because the multiple stabbed wounds indicated that it must have been a hate crime – according to the police."_

"_Ichigo-san." _Lettuce placed her hand on Ichigo's for an encouraging squeeze. _"It's okay. You don't have to explain. We understand."_

"_I don't."_ Mint thought otherwise.

"_Mint, that's enough."_ Ryou tried again, but his wife was still defiant.

"_We used to fight kirema animas and aliens all the time – one of them being the baddest alien the world has ever seen. And she was scared of one human?"_

"_The scariest creature alive is not the ghosts or the monsters, or the aliens. It's the humans themselves,"_ Zakuro said, using a tone that secretly indicated Mint to stop. She still kept going.

"_But if she would ask us…__**relied**__ on us like how she used to, then we could have helped her. Kept her and Ruka safe."_

"_But I couldn't endanger any of you to what this lunatic was planning,'_ Ichigo defended. _"Mint, I am sorry. I truly am but all I could think about was Ruka's safety and I didn't know what else to do. When Masaya died, I didn't know what to do. I felt trapped, helpless, and I thought I was going to suffocate. I couldn't live in fear. I hated that, so I did the only thing I could think. I apologize that you don't agree with it."_

Things became silent on the table after that. Ichigo was trying to hold a strong face in front of everyone and a lot of people didn't know how to change the subject so they could return to the light-hearted on they had before. Mint still didn't let it go and after long, heavy moments, she popped the big one.

"_So __**them**__ leaving and also never coming back has nothing to do with it?"_ Everyone knew exactly what she meant by 'them' and Ichigo wasn't the only one who cringed at the thought.

She finally told her. _"Stop it. Please, just stop it."_

"_You know something, don't you? Those three left because of a supposed disease that was endangering their people and then they never came back."_

"_If you know the story, then why are you insinuating that I have something to do with that? I didn't release a disease into their planet. I didn't make them leave."_

"_But you know that their story was completely bullshit!"_ No one had expected her to let such a crude word escape her mouth and that was when Mint gained the attention of the entire restaurant.

Ryou tried to calm her down again. _"Mint, what exactly are you trying to prove here by accusing Ichigo?"_

"_I'm just trying to understand, like you told me to do, because she left, Ryou! She left for twelve years without no warning and then no contact afterwards. Now she's telling us that she's moving back and we're suppose to welcome her back like those years never happened?! Give me a freaking break. Ichigo, I am genuinely sorry for your loss but believe it or not, that time was hard for all of us! Let me remind you that you weren't the only one who felt helpless and devastated for what happened! You're not the only special one so stop riding your high horse and realize exactly what you lost by leaving! You don't want to tell us what happened, fine. Because I'm done. I am so done with you."_

Then Mint left. Collected her coat and walked right out of that restaurant. Ryou had to go after her of course, and Ichigo had to leave the table. Mint's words nearly destroyed her walls and before they crumbled away into dust, Ichigo had to find a place where she could collect herself. She didn't allow herself to break because she knew she had to go back in. Breaking down would most certainly keep her from doing that.

Staring at the picture of 13 year old Mint, the older woman can feel the tears that should have been shed that day coming back. "I'm so sorry, Mint," is all Ichigo can think to say. "I'm so, so sorry but even now, I'm…." She stops herself and allows her words to fade.

'_Stop it, Ichigo. You have a room to clean.'_

Taking deep breathes in through the nose and out the mouth, Ichigo pushes back her tears again and closes the photo album. However when she closed it, a photo comes sliding out from one of the pages. It came out upside down but as Ichigo watched it glide back and forth down, it flips over and seeing the image became like a knife stabbing and twisting her heart.

That picture may as well be that knife.

She feels the tears forcing their way out again but this time, Ichigo doesn't have the power to stop them. Her eyes start to glossen and feeling that the picture does not deserve to be on the partially dusty floor, her shaking hand reaches for it. Slowly, she picks it up and when she brings it closer for a better look, it breaks her heart.

She didn't want to look at it. She wanted to put it right away but she can't. She doesn't have the will and staring at it just hurts more and more. Finally, the tears come pouring out and she's able to sob out one name before her voice could no longer form words.

The name of the only person in this photo with her when they were sixteen and on summer vacation. When they were both working at the Café Mew Mew and were covered in sweets with frosting and sticky orange juice – both of them laughing at the other's messy face.

"…Kisshu…"

* * *

"What the hell are you?"

Like how she didn't respond to her name, the Pied Piper(or whatever the heck he is) doesn't respond to her question. He's staring at her like he couldn't believe his eyes for a moment, then they brighten with a ray of hope. All too quickly, he stands up and is right in front of Ruka. His hands reach for her face but they don't touch her as he examines every inch of her to know for certain.

"You're Ruka Aoyama, aren't you?" he asks, his voice barely a whisper. He still sounds like he can't believe what he's seeing but he's praying really hard that he is.

She eyes him for that look. It's not like she's the great Dali lama. "Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Hana- chan?"

Ruka eyes widen wider than entrée plates when she heard him call her that. She knows only one other person who would call her that.

"_**I'll come back. I promise you, hana-chan!'**_

'_Dear god,'_ she thinks, wanting so badly to step away from this boy but she can't when her back is up against the alley wall. _'But that's…that's impossible!'_ Accidently, she lets out, "You can't be…"

Seeing the dumbstruck expression and hearing her words, that is all the Pied Piper needs. His prayers are answered and a bright, joyful smile appears on his face. "I found you, hana-chan! I knew I would! I just didn't think so soon when I couldn't find you at your house!"

"Who ar-"

Before Ruka could finish her question, the Pied Piper stops her by cupping her face and without any hesitation at all, he leans down and kisses her. He swallows her words and for a second, Ruka is frozen where she stands and her eyes widen even more as she stares at his closed ones.

What…the..hell…

_SLAP_

That second only lasted one second. On instinct, Ruka pushes this boy away with all of her strength and before he got too far, she slaps him right across the face. Pied Piper finds himself on the floor again with a stinging cheek. He looks up at her, flabbergasted for the hit as Ruka's face is flushed with embarrassment and anger.

"_Who the bloody hell do you think you are?!"_ she yells at him in English.

Pied Piper looks confused. "Hana-chan-"

"_Don't call me that after you just snogged me! We've only just met, sir, and yet you have the audacity to…"_ She lets her words fall short. She doesn't want to even say anything about this great humiliation. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand, glaring every and all frustrations from today at this unfortunate wide eye boy on the ground. _"I don't know who you are but you are gravely mistaken. If you follow me, I will have the police on you in a heartbeat!"_ Ruka grabs her bag from the floor and rushes out of there.

Pied Piper calls "Hana-chan!" but she doesn't stop. He sits there, peeking out from the alley to watch her run away as fast her legs could take her.

Ruka doesn't stop running until she reaches home. Even when she arrived at the front door, she doesn't slow down until she's slams the door behind her and leans against it – as if to make sure that strange boy stays out.

"Ruka-chan?"

Sharply turning around, Ruka sees her grandmother at the doorway to the living room and Sakura looks at her granddaughter in concern with a phone in her hand. "What happened? You looked like you just ran here from school."

'_I sort of did,'_ Ruka thinks, a little too out of breath to speak just yet.

Before she answers the elderly woman in Japanese, she goes to the window right next to the door and peeks out from behind the curtains. She sees nothing on the streets or anything unusual, period. No perverted, skinny boy with elf ears. That's a relief and she exhales in it, too. "Nothing, grandmother. Just a run-in with a strange boy."

Instead of becoming all worried and overreacting if her granddaughter is alright, Sakura smiles and asks, "And I suppose you took care of it?"

"Absolutely." Sakura laughs to that straight answer.

"By the way, your mom is on the phone," she says, waving the device. "I just told her that you were probably hanging out with friends since she wanted to talk to you about your old stuff."

Ruka takes off her shoes first and neatly places them in the corner before officially entering the house. She asks for the phone and says, "I left school before seeing those people." Sakura gives her the phone and Ruka walks away, answering in English, _"Good morning, mom."_

"_Good afternoon, sweetheart,"_ Ichigo responds. Ruka detects something in her mother's voice and is a little glad she started talking in English so Sakura won't understand.

"_Mom, you've been crying."_

Ichigo is a little started for her daughter to notice but at the same time, she's not surprise. She tries to sound cheerful when responding, _"It's nothing. I was just cleaning out the storage room and found some old albums of your father and your grandfather. I ended up reminiscing while looking through them."_

'_Those two, again.' _Ruka narrows her eyes but doesn't say anything of her distaste as she climbs up the stairs to her room.

"_Never mind that. They're just old photographs of good memories. Anyway, how was school?"_ Ichigo asks, changing the subject.

Ruka opens the door to her room and puts her bag on her desk before heading for the bed. _"Repugnant . The teacher kept hounding me on every subject. Trying to guess which subject was my weakest link."_

"_And you've answered every question correctly."_

"_Of course. I read the material."_

Ichigo laughs. _"My little genius. Your grandmother was telling me you had a few escorts to school this morning."_

"_More like a parade. Airi Fong has quite the motor mouth and she wouldn't just walk down the street like a normal person."_

"_Sounds like she takes after her mother a lot. Pudding Fong used to do that all the time when we were young. She used to say, 'Make your life as if you're in a parade. It's more fun that way, na no da.' " _She's trying to make a joke of it but Ruka is not amused.

"_It also makes every person in Tokyo notice you." _Her mother sighs.

"_I heard that you left school without them. Ruka, they seem like nice kids and I know their parents so I'm sure you can all be great friends. You haven't had a friend since-"_ Ichigo abruptly stops herself, causing her daughter to raise a brow at the phone.

"_Since when, mom?"_

On the other side of the phone, Ichigo sits on the plastic covered couch and her eyes close half-way in a bit of sadness. Silently, she cringes for a moment while her hand that's not holding the phone is gripping the corner of a picture in her lap. Quickly, she regains her smile and replies in a light tone, _"Since I don't remember when. I worry about you, Ruka. You're young. You're suppose to have friends to gossip with, have boy talks with, and stay up late on the weekends seeing movies or clubbing. Instead, you prefer being on your own."_

"_I'm better off on my own, mom. At least then, I know I won't be left behind in the end."_

"_Ruka," _Ichigo calls, starting to sound serious, _"Being on your own is the same as being left behind. You just don't know the difference."_

There is silence between them after that. Ruka narrows her eyes to that last statement and she is trying really hard to hold her comments to herself. She already lashed out to a total stranger(maybe). She does not want to waste anymore energy doing that again, especially to her mom.

So to end it, she says, _"I have homework to do. It'll be easy but I still have a lot of reading to do for tomorrow."_

Ichigo knows her daughter better than that. Last time she was in Japan, she saw Ruka almost finished with the history text book. But she won't call on her on that. _"Alright, sweetheart. I should probably return to cleaning that storage room. I'll talk to you tomorrow, but please, Ruka. Give those four a chance, or at least make some attempt to have fun. You'll be seventeen very shortly and you're only be so once."_

"_I'll take your words into consideration then. Good day, mom."_

Ichigo departs in Japanese, "Good night, Ruka."

Ruka is the first to hang up. She so wanted to be done with that conversation and that just added to the things that stressed her today. She leans back to lie on her bed and stares up at the ceiling. It's just a plane white ceiling with a pink lamp cover over the light bulbs. One thing is for certain, when she gets her stuff she is so redecorating. Which by the way, her mom didn't ask about what to do with her old stuff. Great, she'll probably get another call soon instead of tomorrow.

No one said change was easy and Ruka knows it's going to take a long time for her to adjust living in Japan. What other choice does she have? She can't go back to England and even if she could, what would be the point exactly? There was nothing for her there and there is certainly nothing for her here. The only thing Ruka can do is just suck it up and let it go.

But there is one thing she can't let go so easily.

"_**Hana-chan!"**_

'_That boy…'_ The memory of that Pied Piper is nagging at her brain like an irritating fly that won't leave. He acted like he knew her and he said her full-name so he's not entirely mistaken he got the wrong girl. _'How many other Ruka Aoyama's could there be? But what mom said about me not having a friend since someone else. I know she's not telling me the truth but…she can't honestly mean that big-eared freak. That's preposterous!'_ With a deep exhale, Ruka closes her eyes and takes a moment to clear her mind. Just listen to the silence of her room and small sounds of cooking down in the kitchen.

While outside her window on a tree, the Pied Piper is on one of the brunches to hide in the leaves from the view of others; even the girl he's so intently staring at.

"Hana-chan…you really have forgotten me."

* * *

In England, Ichigo rubs her forehead after putting the phone to the side and as she leans her head back against the top of the couch. She's lost count of how many times she told Ruka to make friends or have a life outside her studies. But like every time, her daughter would refuse such an idea. She must be tired retelling her mother the same answer because Ichigo is tired of repeating herself, but what else is she suppose to do?

Then she looks back down at the picture on her lap and sighs, "What am I suppose to do?"

The picture is a different one than the one from before. She's in it, as well as an old alien enemy-turned-friend, but they're both older than sixteen. Much older and they both have children in their arms. More like Ichigo trying to pull away her 5-year old daughter from an equally age boy, whose big elf-like ear is being mercilessly pulled. An alien child with the same shade hair color as Kisshu but with teary crimson-brown eyes instead of a bright golden shade. Poor Kisshu looks just as panicky as Ichigo in that picture if they didn't get Ruka to let the little boy go. Seeing this captured moment, the older Aoyama widow couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Poor Haru. Dad got the idea that all boys were enemies into Ruka's head. She abused that unfortunate boy, but…" Sorrow appears in her eyes again and she thinks to herself, _'He was the only true friend she had, and I kept him away from her, too.'_

Ichigo's free hand gently traces her fingers on Kisshu's image and she holds back one more stubborn sob that, surprisingly, still remains within her. "I said this before and I still mean it now, Kisshu. I need you more than I ever needed Masaya."


End file.
